Authors: Aliyah Burke
Aida grunted, making her opinion on that
very clear before walking away.
The blades stopped, and the door opened.
Dane watched General Brad Herbert climb out and head toward him
with a packet in one hand. Stepping out to meet him, Dane found he
actually had a smile on his face.
“
General,” he said
easily.
Brad’s one eye narrowed slightly. “You
drunk, son?”
“
No, sir.”
A smile crossed the wizened face. “All the
years I’ve known you, and this is the first damn time I’ve seen you
smile. A real fucking smile.” He shook his head in bewilderment. “I
want to meet her.”
Dane furrowed his brow. “Sir?”
“
Don’t play dumb with me,
Crypt.” He waved the file. “Let’s go in and talk.”
The dogs walked up and watched the general
cautiously, and Dane heard him say under his breath about how no
other dogs would get close to him. A real smile and dogs liked him.
Dane led the way inside, and immediately, his gaze found Aida.
“
Aida?” he called out to
her.
She lifted her head, and a slight smile
graced her lips. Wiping her hands off on a towel, she headed toward
them.
General Herbert stepped past him and stuck
out his hand. “Hi, ma’am. Sorry for the intrusion. I’m Brad
Herbert.”
Brad? Since when has this man never used his
military title?
The slight lift of her brow told him Aida
had been expecting a title as well. “Mr. Herbert. Nice to meet you,
I’m Aida Roberts. No need to be formal here.”
The general sniffed the air and said,
“Lovely to meet you. What are you cooking? It smells divine. Been a
long time since I’ve had a home cooked meal.”
Dane couldn’t believe it.
Aida glanced at him briefly before looking back at the general.
“Well, you are more than welcome to stay for the meal, as long as
Dane is fine with it,
General
.”
Brad looked at him so
fast, Dane almost laughed. He knew Aida had thrown him. “You’re
cooking,
solnyshko moyo
. Your decision.”
“
There’s more than
enough,” she said, heading back to the kitchen.
One blue eye held his.
“
Solnyshko moyo
.
Your sun?”
“
Da, solnyshko
moyo
.” And it was nothing but the truth.
Aida was the light with which he could combat the darkness within
him. She was his sun, and he’d known it since the first time he met
her.
The men walked to the living room and sat
across from one another. General Herbert handed him the file. Dane
opened it and nodded as he read over the list. Some of the men he
knew and some he’d personally worked with. He looked up when Aida
placed coffee down between them and walked away silently.
“
Thank you.”
Thank you
, he said
mentally much more intimately than his murmur.
You’re welcome.
Dane heard the sadness in her tone and
lifted his head to glance in the kitchen. She wasn’t even facing
him. How could he leave her?
“
What do you think?”
Herbert questioned.
“
Some good names here.
I’ve heard of some and know a few others. Some… Well, they look
good on paper but it’s almost too good.”
“
We need you,
Crypt.”
Food’s ready whenever you are, Dane.
Dane closed the thick file and set it down.
“Let’s eat,” he said, getting to his feet.
Soon, all three sat at the table. Dane
listened to Brad compliment Aida and ask her questions. The sadness
still existed in her tone, and he liked it less and less the more
he heard it. When she got up for dessert, he could feel the general
watching him. Meeting the wise gaze, Dane arched a brow.
“
Yes?”
“
Didn’t say a
word.”
Aida left them alone after dessert, and Dane
handed the file back to his CO while they stood by the
helicopter.
“
You need to come back,
Dane. I’ll give you this night, but in the morning, I’ll be back
for you.”
His tiger roared in fury. Dane tamped it
down, barely restraining the flinch which came from the razor-sharp
claws tearing at him from the inside. “Yes, sir.”
The man stared at him before climbing and
starting the motor. Dane backed up as the blades began to whirl. He
stood there, hands in his pockets, as it lifted to the air,
carrying the general away. When it was little more than a speck in
the sky, Dane walked back inside. Not seeing her, he moved to the
back rooms. Aida was in her closet, hemming and hawing.
“
Everything okay?” he
asked.
Her head popped out from behind the door a
frustrated smile on her face. “Not really. Thought you’d be going
with him.”
Dane slid closer. “I wouldn’t leave without
saying goodbye.”
Her eyes sobered. “When’s he coming
back?”
“
In the
morning.”
“
Okay.” Aida stepped fully
into the closet.
“
Aida, can you come out of
there?”
A few grunts reached him and made him think
randy, lustful thoughts. Then, she emerged, sweaty and flushed,
neither of which helped in his current state.
“
What?” There was a slight
bite in her tone.
“
Okay? Okay!? That’s all
you have to say?”
Her mask of composure slipped a fraction,
and he was nearly blindsided by her agony. As fast as it fell, she
restored it.
“
There’s really nothing
else to say, Dane. We knew this was inevitable.”
He snarled in swiftly rising fury. Shoving
it back under a wall of ice, he nodded. “Fine.”
Aida frowned and walked toward him, wiping
her hands off on her pant legs before shoving them through her
hair. Staring up at him, she said, “That’s not fair, Dane.”
“
What isn’t?” His words
were cold and emotionless.
“
The anger.”
The hell it wasn’t. “Who’s angry?”
Her gaze filled with pain. “Would you be
happier if I succumbed to the tears I’m fighting to hold back?
Begged you to either stay or take me with you?”
Tears I’m fighting to hold
back
. “Yes,” he said, his word
strained.
“
And after I do all that,
Dane, and you still walk out of my life, not only am I heartbroken
but also humiliated because you turned down all I had to offer.”
Her voice dropped to a mere whisper. “How is
that
fair to me?”
Dane stared at her in silence. She was
right. He couldn’t take her with tomorrow. He reached for her and
pulled her in close. She fit against him perfectly. Burying his
nose in her thick hair, he held her tightly.
“
I just want…need to know
that I’m not the only one this is hard for,” he whispered, baring
his soul for her.
“
Never doubt it,
tiger-mine.”
“
I need you, Aida,” he
admitted.
Chapter
Fourteen
She knew she should
refuse. Aida knew she should walk away. Ignore any emotion she had
in regards to Dane Sidorov. She
knew
it. It was best to protect her
heart.
So why in the hell didn’t she open her mouth
and tell him to get out?
Pulling back so she could meet his intense
tawny-green-gold gaze, Aida shook her head and said, “Yes.”
He ate her mouth with a feral hunger, his
thick tongue invading her with purpose. Aida whimpered and gripped
his biceps while he continued to engulf her with his kiss. Flames
arced between them. Aida bit at his tongue and trembled when he
stared warningly at her. His eyes were dark with primitive hunger
when he ended the kiss.
“
One chance to say no,
mate.”
His words, dangerous and laced with silken
promise, touched her deeply even as it roused her excitement even
more. She loved this side of him. Her stomach clenched with
anticipation. Her pussy creamed and she could feel her nipples ache
with want of his callused touch.
“
One final night,
tiger-mine. You really want to waste it talking?”
A menacing rumble rose up from the depths of
his chest and Aida wondered what she was tempting. His gaze sparked
with a searing heat that damn near launched her into an orgasmic
state. He raked his hand down the front of her, and she gasped when
her clothes fell from her body, shredded. She’d never even felt the
claws on her skin, he wielded them so masterfully. She closed her
eyes briefly. Dane spun her around so she faced the closet door,
one powerful leg between hers, widening her stance.
“
Dane,” she whispered when
he brought her arms up over her head and secured them there beneath
one of his large hands.
His leg lifted her until only her toes
touched the ground.
“
Mine!” he snarled in her
ear before removing his leg.
Her pussy clenched with need when he rubbed
against her back, his body without clothing. Squeezing her eyes
shut, Aida inhaled sharply when the large head of his cock slid
into her. One stroke and he was sheathed completely within her. Her
slit gripped him as a wave of bliss swarmed her.
Before she could recover from that, Dane
began to move. This was no gentle, tender loving. It was hard.
Primal. Animalistic. He drove hard and mercilessly up into her.
Each stroke making her scream in raw pleasure. Her pussy spasamed
when he bit the area between her neck and shoulder as if to hold
her in place. She wriggled but he growled, clamped down, and
pistoned harder. Aida couldn’t get any moisture in her mouth to
speak. She needed one more thing, just that final push.
Dane!
Mine!
The word roared through her mind.
Yes!
She knew there was no one else for her. This was her one
love. He was hers as she was his. She had known it for a while now,
but finally, she accepted it wholeheartedly. Completely.
A burst of warmth exploded within her and
she shook from the increased feeling it poured through her. Dane
plunged forward once more, his bite still holding her in place, and
shuddered against her back while he erupted within her.
Aida screamed as his release triggered her
own. That’s what she’d needed. Stars flickered behind her eyes, and
she rode out the aftershocks she experienced. Her body sagged with
total exhaustion. Dane slipped out of her and carried her to the
bed where he lay her down.
He rose up over her and she swam in his
gaze. “Dane,” she murmured, her voice scratchy and hoarse from her
screams.
“
Slow and easy this
time,
solnyshko moyo
.”
He lowered his head and began to pay homage
to her body. When he eased his hard shaft back into her, Aida
didn’t know how much more she could take. Her nerves seemed beyond
frazzled. This time, when he came deep within her, he whispered
words in her ear, words she didn’t understand but ones which made
her feel cherished.
Aida had no idea when she fell asleep. All
she knew was, when she woke, she was sore. All over. There was a
lone light on in the room. Dane’s arm lay along her hip, holding
her to him. Even her eyes felt extremely heavy. She slowly moved
his arm, and just when she believed she could slip by, he tightened
it and drew her in close.
“
Where are you going?” he
rumbled softly in her ear.
“
I was going to take care
of my boys.”
His lips caressed her skin. “They’re fine. I
let them out around four. It’s barely five.”
“
Oh.”
She shifted, and he rolled
her so they were face to face. Aida memorized his face, hard angles
of masculine perfection. His eyes had a hooded sensual look to
them. She could feel the heat he created within her building all
over again. It had been hot and intense before but
now…
now,
it had
increased one hundred fold.
“
What did you do to me?”
she asked.
Those tawny-green-gold eyes never blinked.
“The same thing you did to me, accepted the mating bond.”
He’d finally completed their mating, and the
feeling didn’t scare her like she thought it would have. Instead,
it filled her with a sense of calm and relief. They would always be
connected now, no matter what. She shifted again and winced over
the soreness in her body.
No wonder people say sex
can kill you. Sweet goddess.
“I have to
get up and shower. Your ride will be here soon.” His gaze became
emotionless, and she fought back a shudder. “Do you have any idea
of how scary you can be?” Pressing a light kiss to his firm lips,
she scooted out of bed, groaning with the ache in her
muscles.
By five-thirty, she stood in the kitchen
making breakfast. Dane fixed himself a cup of coffee. Even though
it was expected, she still jumped when the sound of the helicopter
on its approach filled the air. She and Dane shared a brief look
before he strode to the door.
This is not going to be
easy.
Aida fought back the need to cry and
set the table. Three settings. She barely glanced up when her front
door opened, admitting Dane and General Herbert.
“
Sit down, gentlemen.
Breakfast is ready.”
“
Thank you, and good
morning, Ms. Roberts.”
“
Aida, please.”
Aida looked at him. He didn’t look like her
vision of a general. He was a handsome older man. In good shape. He
wore a green shirt, blue jeans, and had on cowboy boots. The patch
over his right eye and the scar down his face only added to the
mystique he gave off. She cut her eyes to the left and travelled
over Dane’s appearance. A smile tipped up her lips. Cowboy boots,
tight jeans, and a black shirt. They were more alike than he knew.
Even their expressions. Aida glanced back to General Herbert. He
waited for her gaze. His lone eye twinkled, and he winked it at
her.